Fire and Knowledge

Last night I was reading Habits of the High-Tech Heart and read this paragraph:

One of the great problems within cyberculture is the constant motion that keeps us from fearfully contemplating our actual situation…. If we take the time to reflect on our situation, we might conclude that no amount of informational technology is going to repair the destruction in our own lives, let alone save the planet. (p. 105)

Who does that remind you of?  If you said “Pascal” you get a gold star—unless you first looked down to the next paragraph and saw his name.  Then you get a cheater award.

When I (was forced) to read Pascal in college, he amazed me with his ability to get to the heart of an issue.  One of the best parts in his Pensées is when he talks about humanity’s capacity and desire for diversion, which is one of the few things I remember about what I read in college.  So, I got my Pascal book out and looked through it until I found the quote I was looking for:

I have often said that the sole cause of a man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room…. The only good thing for men therefore is to be diverted from thinking of what they are, either by some occupation which takes their mind off it, or by some novel and agreeable passion which keeps them busy, like gambling, hunting, some absorbing show, in short by what is called diversion.

That is why gaming and feminine society, war and high office are so popular.  It is not that they really bring happiness, nor that anyone imagines that true bliss comes from possessing the money to be won at gaming or the hare that is hunted: no one would take it as a gift.  What people want is not the easy peaceful life that allows us to think of our unhappy condition, nor the dangers of war, nor the burdens of office, but the agitation that takes our mind off it and diverts us.  That is why we prefer the hunt to the capture.

That is why men are so fond of the hustle and bustle; that is why prison is such a fearful punishment; that is why the pleasures of solitude are so incomprehensible.  That, in fact, is the main joy of being a king, because people are continually trying to divert him and procure him every kind of pleasure.  A king is surrounded by people whose only thought is to divert him and stop him thinking about himself, because, king though he is, he becomes unhappy as soon as he thinks about himself. (Pensées, in Christianity for Modern Pagans by Peter Kreeft, p. 172-173)

Think about that for a while.  Let it sink in.  Then read it again.  Man really will do just about anything to avoid thinking about his unhappy condition.  We need to repent from our constant desires to be distracted by surfing the web, reading emails, consuming news, watching TV and movies, listening to music, talking more than listening, avoiding silence, and the like.  We need to remember the things that are important in life—like God, family, and community.  I encourage you to take some time out to think about these things and decide what distractions you can remove from your daily life so we can focus on things that really matter.